


Windows to the Soul

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: M/M, light slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-01 21:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12713508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: Eyes are windows to the soul, and someone who knows them best has plenty of stories to tell about them.





	1. Illya

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1 of 2; I'm doing a piece for Illya this week, and Napoleon will be next week.

Depending on who you ask around U.N.C.L.E. HQ, you will always get a different description of Illya Kuryakin’s eyes.

You’ll get the usual epithets—pretty, blue, mysterious. And you’ll also get a recurring theme of “cold” and “ice” from a lot of people. Illya himself encourages that description; he enjoys being seen as a standoffish ice prince.

Ask Napoleon Solo to describe Illya’s eyes, however, and you’ll get another story entirely—a lot of the time, you’ll get multiple stories.

“Resourceful.”

That means you might hear the one about the two of them successfully managed to communicate an entire escape plan to each other while tied up at opposite ends of a THRUSH cell merely by blinking at each other in Morse code.

“Transparent.”

That means you might hear the one about the Gurnius Affair, and how Illya was superbly able to maintain the mask of Colonel Nexor while simultaneously reassuring Napoleon with just a glance that he could trust his life in his hands.

“Loyal.”

Then, you’d hear the one about the Summit Five Affair, and how, even after Napoleon had confessed to being a traitor and had nearly the entire organization believing it, Illya’s faith in him never once wavered.

“Kind.”

That could mean any number of stories—the numerous times Napoleon woke up from unconsciousness and the first thing he saw were Illya’s eyes looking down upon him in concern, the way Illya looked after their cat, the numerous times Illya would support him after a long and weary day, his patient words when the occasional failed mission could ground Napoleon’s spirit… If Napoleon says “kind,” then you might as well pull up a chair; you’re going to be there for a while.

“Concerned.”

Again, that is a multitude of stories, but, usually, it means the first time he saw tears in the Russian’s eyes—after Napoleon had taken a bullet for him on a mission during the second year of their partnership together.

At that point, Napoleon will launch into all sorts of unrelated stories about his partner; attempting to bring the conversation back to the topic of describing Illya’s eyes will lead to just one more word--

“Everything.”

You won’t get a story behind that; those stories are very secret, and kept close to Napoleon’s heart. Illya means the world to him—more than the world, in fact.

He won’t describe how he can see the entire universe in Illya’s eyes—not to you, anyway. He reserves that for Illya alone, when it is just the two of them, side by side in bed in the darkness of the night.

But at that point, you’ve already realized what Napoleon is trying to say—that true love exists, and that he’s found it in Illya—eyes and all.


	2. Napoleon

Asking around U.N.C.L.E. HQ about Napoleon’s eyes gives you a generally unanimous consensus. Napoleon is a very popular fellow, and very well-liked and admired throughout the agency. Most of the ones you ask will give you “warm” and “friendly,” and you’re sure to hear “charming” a lot.

Napoleon does have a few detractors in the agency, however, but you’ll have to look really hard to find them. They do exist, though--those jealous of his popularity and how well he’s liked; they’ll tell you his eyes are filled with nothing but “deviousness,” “smugness” and “arrogance,” though that is simply just not true—and if you speak to Illya Kuryakin, he will tell you just how untrue it is.

Illya is an interesting person to speak to where Napoleon is concerned—in front of Napoleon, he’s all snark and teasing, and certainly sees no need to stoke Napoleon’s ego that way.

But catch Illya alone and question him about Napoleon, or even tell him what those few detractors have said, and you will see the righteous fury spark in his eyes. He will, however, take a look around to make sure Napoleon isn’t within earshot, and then begin to talk at length about just what rests in Napoleon’s eyes.

He’ll stumble over the first word, since the American saying is not that familiar to him—

“Streetwise.” 

Illya’s smarts are proven by his degrees—he is Dr. Kuryakin, though he doesn’t go by that for reasons of modesty. Napoleon has no titles before or after his name, but he knows the ways of the world and how to influence people far better than Illya ever could. Napoleon has talked them out of more jams than Illya could ever count—jams that could have resulted in violence if Illya had been forced to find a way out on his own. Even when Illya’s knee-jerk reaction is to put a hand on his Special, all he needs to get him to relax is to see a reassuring wink from his partner’s brown eyes, and he knows that Napoleon has already figured a way out of the crisis _du jour_.

“Crafty.”

That’s another word Illya will use, but he means it in only a positive sense. And he has a memorable story to back it up. Being a Russian living in the States under the global climate of the Cold War, Illya has, alas, run into his fair share of those who consider him second-class merely because of his origins or his name.

One memorable time it happened was in a casino where he and Napoleon had just finished up a mission at. A drunk gambler had very loudly yelled at Illya as though he alone was responsible for the current state of worldwide events. For a moment, Napoleon had looked as though he was going to punch the man in the nose right then and there, but a moment later, a look in his eyes had made it clear that he had thought of something much better.

Momentarily pretending not to know Illya, he steered the creep towards the poker table. Illya had been recovering at the bar with a drink and didn’t see exactly what had transpired, but he could surmise what had occurred when Napoleon came strolling up to him an hour later with a wad of cash that he handed over to him, claiming them to be reparations.

“Dedicated.”

Illya has to admit that for all of Napoleon’s desires to live the good life, he is very dedicated to what he does—and he is also very dedicated to Illya, too. He would never try to let U.N.C.L.E. or Illya down, and he has put his reputation and life on the line more than once to protect both, without hesitation or regret.

“Kind.”

It inevitably comes up, just as Napoleon brings it up when describing Illya’s eyes. And Illya has just as many stories about Napoleon as Napoleon has about him, but what sticks most in his mind is the unconditional trust and kindness that Napoleon showed him from day one of their partnership.

“Concerned.”

That, as well, comes up, for just as much as Illya worries for Napoleon, so does Napoleon worry about him. Illya isn’t usually as lucky as his partner in getting out of scrapes unscathed, and no matter how many times it happens, no matter how much he assures Napoleon that he will be fine, Napoleon’s protective gaze will never waver until he is satisfied that it is so.

Illya doesn’t ramble on like Napoleon does; Illya isn’t a man of that many words, so he doesn’t waver from the conversation. It also means that, at this point, he will be tight-lipped, because he has one more word, but it is not for you to hear.

“Loving.”

He will never tell you how Napoleon loves him, how every look the American gives him is one of admiration and adoration, how the nights with him are warm and wonderful, and how he never dared to hope that he would win the heart of the man who could have won the heart of anyone in the world he desired.

He will never tell you that. But if you listen between the lines, you can hear it—and know that these are truly the two most devoted partners you will ever meet.


End file.
